leonardwarren Chapter 175: Even In The Tiger's Den, If You Stay Calm... (1)
Chapter 175: Even In The Tiger's Den, If You Stay Calm... (1)
Do you know the author H.P. Lovecraft?
Well, even if you don’t, if you read genre novels, you’ve probably heard of Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, the Blind Idiot God, and so on.
It’s known to some that Lovecraft had various issues.
Yet, even those people cannot deny Lovecraft’s achievements.
Cosmic horror.
A genre created with the goal of modern mythology, it centers on the fear of mere mortals being toyed with by enormous and powerful transcendental beings.
And now. Y.N. Jonah (Jonny Boy) was feeling a similar fear.
“In fact, we were all just the Goddess’s playthings...!”
“Is it okay for a Saint to say such things?”
Ellie shook her head in disbelief.
However, I’m serious. So serious that I used my newly acquired power on Ellie first.
“Take this!”
Not only could I move with precision, but I also had the bonus of feeling as if I were a third party looking down at my face from above.
With a meticulously calculated smile, I captivated Ellie’s rationality.
Wink.
“...What are you doing, Jonah?”
“What...!”
It’s...not working?
Even though it’s a 1-star Power! How can it have no effect?
I tilted my head in disbelief for a moment. The expression I perceived with my enhanced senses was perfect.
...Then, is it lacking impact?
Until now, I’ve been using the Shining Eyes Power to make my eyes look pretty by infusing them with divine power to make them shine when asking Ellie for a late-night snack, or when I got up at night and was too lazy to turn on the light.
I decided to mix it with Alluring Wink. Shining Eyes is a 2-star Power, so combining them makes it 3-star...!
Even Ellie wouldn’t be able to resist this overwhelming hypnosis app!
Blink, blink.
“Huh? You want meat in the morning? Hmm. I wonder if there are any ingredients left.”
Ellie, tilting her head, temporarily set aside the broom she was cleaning with and rummaged through the fridge.
There’s still no effect...? I was sure that Shining Eyes had an effect on their own when I first got them and tried them out...
Am I actually a lunatic who mistakenly believes I’ve gained power? Is this all the Goddess of Love’s scheme to keep every woman away from me except herself?
...But, even if that’s the case, what can I do?
Having blown 150 gold on a gacha without even getting a 4-star and being unknowingly altered to the Goddess’s tastes, what can a mere mortal like me do!
“Huh?”
But I’m the original creator, right? Even if I only wrote the settings, all the major stuff came from my head, right?
Yet here I am, being teased by the very Goddess I crafted with the most care...
“This is totally Fallen Lady...”
Since realizing yesterday that I was being customized, I’ve been freaking out and trembling at everything, but this time I truly flinched.
Surely, the Goddess of Love doesn’t have some weird fetish, right? She wants to join her comrades in eternal rest, right?
The overwhelming sense of anxiety. I had clearly written half of today’s work and, feeling tired, set an alarm for an hour to take a short nap, only to find myself restless to the same degree as waking up the next morning.
Ellie, with a triumphant expression, brought in a large piece of meat, the kind you’d only see in comics. The moment I saw her expression, all stray thoughts melted away.
“Ah! I forgot about this. I originally ordered it to celebrate the conquering of the 2nd Floor, but various things happened in between.”
“......”
“It’ll need some preparation to be eaten properly, so we can’t have it now. Let’s gather everyone later and eat it together.... Of course, I can grill a few pieces simply right now. What do you think? Should we have this for breakfast?”
“Ahaha. I’ve been a bit tired lately, so I just took a little rest and then...”
“Mm-hmm. I understand. I have those times quite often myself.”
“Sir Jonah too?!”
“...? Of course, I’m human too, so if I’m tired, I take naps and such, right?”
“Oh, that. You mean naps. Right. I knew that.”
Though it’s unclear what surprised her, Eve shows a really suspicious reaction.
But it’s natural for Eve to be suspicious, as it is written in the Goguryeo Subak-do.1
...Still, since she’s 1000 years old, she must be younger than the Subak-do, right?
Recalling back to my school days and pondering when Goguryeo fell, my gaze was momentarily drawn to the snack package in my hand.
“Ah... If you’re tired, should I come back at another time? I intended to eat this with you, and since I already bought it, I’ll just leave it with you.”
“No way! I’ll be fine after a quick wash, so please come in.”
Eve jumped up at my words and swung the shop door wide open.
I responded with a brief smile to her gesture to come inside and entered.
Though some of the merchandise had changed, the shop’s interior was fundamentally the same as before.
When I placed the snack package on the reception table, Eve didn’t sit down but instead gave an awkward smile.
“Then, let me go wash my face for a moment.”
“It’s your shop, Eve, feel free to do as you like.”
Feeling uncomfortable, I told her that and quickly set up what I had bought.
Suddenly, my hands stopped at the scent that reached my nose.
A sweet and sour fragrance like a mix of flowers and fruit.
It was a scent I hadn’t encountered before. Was she tired and lit a scented candle? Or maybe she’s growing fragrant plants.
It was quite a pleasant scent, so I started sniffing around to find its source.
With my senses enhanced by various skills, it wasn’t hard to pinpoint where it was coming from.
If it’s okay later, I should ask for one.
Giggling, I opened the door to the fragrant room.
...But what was there completely defied my imagination.
A pink-haired male doll (small and cute) soaked in some unknown liquid, and articles about me scattered everywhere.
The cups, which I thought Lemon and Apple had broken, had disappeared at some point and were displayed with preservation magic along with the date.
On the floor, there was a liquid that, no matter how I looked at it, wasn’t water, but had a strange viscosity.
...Come to think of it, didn’t Lemon and Apple say that Eve had become strange when she couldn’t see me?
I calmly closed the door. As quietly as possible, to avoid making any noise.
Now, all that remained was to return to my seat as if nothing had happened...
Thud.
Something soft bumped against the back of my head as I was stepping back.
As I turned around with a creaking movement, right in front of me was Eve’s voluptuous chest, uncharacteristic for an elf, blocking my retreat.
Eve twists her lips as she looks toward me, who was frozen stiff like a platypus who had encountered a crocodile.
“Oh dear. It seems you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have?”
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Those narrow slits for eyes. That sly manner of speaking. And the long, stretched smile.
The moment I saw Eve’s signature sinister smile, I realized.
That I had willingly walked into a beast’s maw...!
TL/N: This refers to a Korean meme that mocks overly nationalistic and pseudo-historical claims by Korean nationals with excessive nationalistic pride or those obsessed with Korea's mythical superiority. Goguryeo Subak-do is a mural painting found in a mid-4th century Goguryeo tomb depicting a person doing certain movements claimed to be the traditional Korean Martial Art, Subak. The meme derives from the Japanese Manga ‘Taekwondoer Park’ where Koreans provoke foreigners by claiming Subak, a traditional Korean martial art is the origin of all martial arts and combat sports, claiming this mural as evidence. ️